BRIDGEPORT -- A still hesitant Board of Education is marching forward with the Commissioner's Network process, naming members to the panels that will develop turnaround plans for Marin and Bryant schools.

Both schools have some of the lowest test scores in the state, qualifying them for admission into a state program that will give the schools millions in extra funding over three years in exchange for more state oversight.

The teacher's union gets to name two members to each committee, as well. It will be up to the committees to select a turnaround plan that would go to Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor and the state Board of Education for approval this spring.

The local committee selection came after the board heard from representatives from Curiale and Dunbar, schools that are already in the network and say there are benefits.

Curiale Principal Brett Gustavson said the additional $1.1 million his school receives has allowed the school to increase its school day by 45 minutes. There are more extra curricular activities, field trips and classroom libraries. School suspensions, he said, have been cut in half.

Board members, however, expressed concerns about how fast plans for improvement have to be developed, and about sustainability, once the additional money runs out.

Board Chairwoman Sauda Baraka said she wants to make sure parents know about and support the plan. Howard Gardiner, a freshman board member, said he was concerned that the commissioner could reject the district plan and substitute something else.

A state representative, however, is assigned to the turnaround committee and as much as possible, the district tries to make changes that are sustainable once the money runs out. Curiale's extended day, for instance, involves teachers with staggered work schedules.

"What this does is give us a jump-start," said Sandra Kase, a district official. "If you are underperforming for a while, you need a jump-start."

School board member Kenneth Moales said participation in the Commissioner's Network would be "way better than what has been happening at those schools."

In addition to additional operating dollars, the schools have also been promised capitol funds from the state to make building repairs.

Ondrea Moore, a Bryant School parent, said the network would be great for the children and the school. She said she hopes Bryant will get a bigger playground out of the arrangement, a full-time school nurse and more psychologist and guidance counselor assistance.

"We should not wait and see if this works," the Rev. William McCullough, pastor at Russell Temple CME Church on Connecticut Avenue, told the school board. "All of our schools are failing. We need to take advantage of every opportunity. We need to do it, and do it now."